Expert Witness : World News

A story that has not been much in the news in this country, but has wide repercussions for the legal profession worldwide has been the collapse of giant New York law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP. On 30 May the company announced the completion of its demise.

The statement read: "The international law firm of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP today announced that in an effort to preserve assets and wind down its business in the most orderly and efficient way possible, it has filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code. The filing was made in Manhattan this evening, in US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York."

That Chapter 11 filing is a similar procedure to placing a company into administration in the UK. In some cases it results in the business being sold and, therefore saved. However, in the case of Dewey, that is not the case.

Recognition for the 100 most innovative technology companies in Europe.Manchester (UK) and Boston (USA) - Avecto, the leader in Windows privilege management, announced today they are winners of Red Herring's Top 100 Europe award, a prestigious award that recognises the top 100 private technology companies from the European business region.

Red Herring’s Top 100 Europe list has become a mark of distinction for identifying promising new companies and entrepreneurs. Red Herring editors were among the first to recognize that companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo, Skype, Salesforce.com, YouTube, and eBay would change the way we live and work.

On 20 April the UK Justice Secretary Ken Clarke announced that the so-called Brighton Declaration on reforming the European Court of Human Rights had been agreed by all 47 signatories to the Declaration.

Speaking at the Council of Europe Conference in the city, Mr Clarke said: “These reforms represent a substantial package of reform and are a significant step towards realising the goals that the Prime Minister set out in Strasbourg.

“Taken together, these changes should mean fewer cases being considered by the court. Those that it considers should be allegations of serious violations or major points of interpretation of the Convention and will be processed without the scandalous delays we are seeing at present.

A doctor providing an expert’s opinion at the disciplinary hearing of Dr. Roland Wong said Tuesday he supported the Toronto physician’s controversial attempts to improve the health of his low-income patients.

Dr. Wong — who has been dubbed a ‘modern Robin Hood’ for helping patients on social assistance access additional money for food — is under investigation by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.

The college’s lawyers allege Wong acted in a way that was “disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional” while operating a clinic that specialized in providing special diet allowances, which give patients on social assistance in Ontario additional money to buy healthy food.

The military judiciary in the US is currently deciding how to deal with Staff Sgt Robert Bales, the soldier suspected of one of the most horrendous incidents to date in its engagement in Afghanistan – that of the shooting dead of 16 civilians, mainly children, in Kandahar.

Sgt Bales was reportedly passed fit for duty after being injured twice, including suffering a ‘concussive brain injury’. The wisdom or otherwise of that decision will no doubt emerge in due course, however his lawyer is reported by the BBC as suggesting Sgt Bales “…was not fit to serve because of injuries he had suffered on previous tours of duty”.

Sgt Bales’ injuries were suffered on active service, but many other military personnel suffer injuries in their daily working lives that are completely analogous to other work-related injuries suffered by civilians. However, US soldiers – unlike their counterparts in the British military – cannot sue the US government for compensation in the courts.